Round this off........

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by grmasterb

As I stated previously, the roundabouts would be less land intensive, particularly in the Greyhound Pass area. I suspect, therefore, that they would be cheaper as well, while moving traffic efficiently.

As for the 31 project north of Indy metro, IMO, other than working to get traffic moving faster through Kokomo and the new road leading from roughly Plymouth up to South Bend, I think it's a gigantic waste of money. There's no need for 31 to be a freeway all the way to South Bend. The route is not that important.

Not important???? Because you don't use it???

[850_branded]

^^ Right on, domergurl.

I run a lot of freight between the South Bend area and points south, to include Indy and even further on out to other parts of the country. Elkhart, Bristol, Mishawaka, and even South Bend have a lot of manufacturers who send product all over the country, and if any of it goes due south of Indy, most likely it's coming down US-31, around 465, and then on to wherever it's going. It's absolutely a vital artery.

All that said, I'm in complete agreement with Freebird on the roundabout thing...those ARE unsafe for heavy trucks, for precisely the reason he stated: the trailer taking up both lanes while maneuvering through there. It's already bad enough that some four-wheelers feel the need to cut bit trucks off at every simple little chance they get...try it in a roundabout and they'll probably get a corner taken off their automobile if not worse. And, with the way most are built, the curbs will also do more than quite the number to trailer tires...particularly of the 10' 2" spread axle variety, like mine currently.

And, I also gotta address the comment about restricting freight deliveries in Carmel to between midnight and 6 a.m. That might be one of the dumbest things I've read...you do realize that every single thing you buy off the shelf in a store got to that store, or to the distribution center of said store, on the back of somebody's truck, right? No matter the time of the day. Shoot, even I didn't realize just how vital the trucking industry is to this country's economy until I started doing it. So what, a few folks might not like some big trucks taking up their space on the road? Eh well...deal with it. Is it the noise that's the concern? That's why many cities and towns have jake-brake restrictions. Trust me...we can handle it.

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by 850_branded

^^ Right on, domergurl.

I run a lot of freight between the South Bend area and points south, to include Indy and even further on out to other parts of the country. Elkhart, Bristol, Mishawaka, and even South Bend have a lot of manufacturers who send product all over the country, and if any of it goes due south of Indy, most likely it's coming down US-31, around 465, and then on to wherever it's going. It's absolutely a vital artery.

All that said, I'm in complete agreement with Freebird on the roundabout thing...those ARE unsafe for heavy trucks, for precisely the reason he stated: the trailer taking up both lanes while maneuvering through there. It's already bad enough that some four-wheelers feel the need to cut bit trucks off at every simple little chance they get...try it in a roundabout and they'll probably get a corner taken off their automobile if not worse. And, with the way most are built, the curbs will also do more than quite the number to trailer tires...particularly of the 10' 2" spread axle variety, like mine currently.

And, I also gotta address the comment about restricting freight deliveries in Carmel to between midnight and 6 a.m. That might be one of the dumbest things I've read...you do realize that every single thing you buy off the shelf in a store got to that store, or to the distribution center of said store, on the back of somebody's truck, right? No matter the time of the day. Shoot, even I didn't realize just how vital the trucking industry is to this country's economy until I started doing it. So what, a few folks might not like some big trucks taking up their space on the road? Eh well...deal with it. Is it the noise that's the concern? That's why many cities and towns have jake-brake restrictions. Trust me...we can handle it.

Completely disagree on U.S. 31. I've driven that route enough to know that it is not that heavily traveled. Like I said, fix the slow spots in Kokomo, north of La Paz and in Hamilton County. Other than that, there's no point in bringing it to interstate standard. There's no way 31 is even as close a vital commerce artery as I-65 or I-70.

As for the proposed 31 roundabouts, let's wait and see the design that's proposed. And I think anyone with half a brain recognizes that most of the goods on store shelves get there via truck. That doesn't mean those goods have to come to the store dock via 18-wheeler.